Friends of Amasangoequipping,​ engaging, empowering

​Friends of Amasango​

Friends of Amasango is the UK charity that supports the work of the Amasango Career School in Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa. This special needs school enables severely marginalised children and young people to obtain a primary education and build self-esteem. Grants from the Friends mainly provide:

two meals a day and food parcels at weekends – without these, many children at the school would not eat

school uniforms, shoes, coats and other clothing once a year – without these, the children could not attend school

uniforms, schoolbooks and rent (if needed) for ex-pupils who go on to high school

teaching equipment, tools and vocational equipment that are not provided by the education authority.

Children often have no financial support or family backing, so the food, clothing and transport supplied make attendance at school possible.

How the school works

Children from the very poorest backgrounds and from the street are referred to the school by social workers. They enter the school at the grade appropriate to their level of education, not necessarily the one appropriate for their age, which can be anything from 5 to 18.Thanks to the specialised care and teaching provided at the school about half the learners are able to continue their education at high school. Others learn a vocational skill that they will be able to use to find work.The Department of Education refers some learners who are not coping with the normal curriculum in mainstream schools to Amasango in order to follow the skills curriculum.

Friends and volunteers

The UK charity Friends of Amasango is run by nine trustees. It is small but financially efficient, with expenses amounting to less than 3 per cent of income. All money sent to South Africa is budgeted and controlled.Street children need a lot of individual attention, so volunteers are welcome at the school. They travel to Grahamstown at their own expense, fund their living expenses and work on their own initiative once there. While the charity offers advice and ensures that a DBS check has been carried out, it doesn’t provide a formal volunteer programme.If there was no school like this in Grahamstown, some of these children would be dead by now from sniffing glue and petrol and robbing people, but this school has helped to remove children from the street and to give them a basic education.Linda Ngamlana, Principal